The sedra opens with the Israelites poised to enter the land of Israel. Hashem told Moses to send twelve princes to spy out the land, one from each tribe. This was in response to the people's request - and the result was a disaster.

Points to Ponder

1. Twelve spies were sent, one from each tribe. The Torah says Kulam Anashim - they were all important people. So, we shouldn't think that the spies were ordinary people and that had they sent more important people, the result would have been better.

2. The spies were told to see if the people were strong or weak and if the cities were walled and strong, or not. They were also asked to see how fertile the land was, and to pick some of its fruit and bring it back. They were not asked for their opinion on whether the Israelites should go into the land. And they were asked to report back to Moshe directly, rather than to give a public 'press conference'.

3. For forty days the spies toured the land. They brought back substantial amounts of produce and declared the Land to be good, as they had been promised. Then came the 'but' - the spies declared, in effect, that all the goodness of the Land was worthless, because the people who lived there were too strong to be conquered.

4. The spies described themselves as grasshoppers in the eyes of the inhabitants. This provides us with insight into their level of self-esteem!

5. The night on which the spies returned and the people cried on hearing their testimony - was Tisha B'Av, the same date on which both Temples were destroyed, generations later.

Two of the spies, Calev and Joshua dissented from the majority view. They agreed that the inhabitants of the Land were very strong, but urged the people to have faith in Hashem. However, the people followed the majority view and tragically, the spies' report and the people's reaction became a self-fulfilling prophecy. G-d declared to Moses that if the people didn't want the Land, they wouldn't get it.

When the people heard the punishment, they immediately regretted their sin and changed their mind. They offered to go up to the Land immediately, but it was too late. Moses warned them to remain in the camp, but they didn't listen to Moses, and they were attacked - and beaten - by the Canaanites.

Several laws follow. One law was that part of the dough should be set aside when baking bread, and given to the Kohain. Today, it is burnt. The part of the dough that is removed, is called 'challah'. This mitzvah still applies today whenever we bake bread. The sedra concludes with the third paragraph of the shema containing the mitzvah of tzitzit, which serves as a constant reminder of all the mitzvot.

Shabbat Shalom